This invention relates to a wireless radio frequency (rf) communications network for controlling a power plant, and more particularly to a system and method for establishing a wireless rf communications network for communicating multiply (e.g., doubly or triply) modular redundant wireless signals over a plurality of respective communications channels for monitoring and controlling operations in a power plant.
A conventional power plant comprises, a power generation system having components such as a turbine and a power generator, and various auxiliary systems (e.g., support skids such as a lubrication oil skid, a water wash skid, etc.). These various systems in the power plant are often interconnected by analog (wired) networks. This analog wiring has been conventionally used to interconnect systems in the power plant to insure equipment safety and reliability even under severe environmental conditions. However, installing these wired interconnections is both time consuming and labor intensive. For example, many wires are often connected to each of the many measuring devices (e.g., sensors, transducers, and thermocouples) of the power plant in a star configuration. Difficulties therefore arise during electrical loop inspections if a wire is misplaced or misconnected.
In addition to the labor intensive and time consuming installation, the material costs for the wiring (e.g., copper cabling) are quite significant. It would therefore be beneficial to substitute this wire-based configuration with a digital, wireless field bus to expedite the installation of the components of the power plant and to minimize material costs.
As noted above, wiring has been used by manufacturers of power plants to insure equipment safety and reliability. Processing facilities have implemented digital input/output (I/O) using field bus architectures such as Profibus(trademark) and Genius(trademark). These field bus architectures allow for remote changes to be made and implemented if control system operating requirements are changed.
Wireless networks have been widely used in general in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz regions. However, these wireless networks typically have been incapable of operating reliably in a noisy electromagnetic environment. There thus remains a need for a wireless communication system for controlling operation in a power plant which allows for easy and less costly installation, but that also operates reliably after installation even under severe environmental conditions such as wide temperature variations and noisy electromagnetic environments.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a system and method comprises a power generation system having an interface for enabling wireless communication, at least one power plant auxiliary system having an interface for enabling wireless communication, and a wireless communications link having at least two redundant wireless communications channels established between the power generation system and the power plant auxiliary system.
The two redundant wireless communications channels may be two redundant wireless radio frequency channels. The communications link may be established utilizing a network communications controller which wirelessly communicates with the interface of the power generation system and wirelessly communicates with the interface of the power plant auxiliary system through a repeater. The repeater may wirelessly and separately communicate with a plurality of interfaces of a plurality of respective separate power plant auxiliary systems, each respective communications link established between the separate power plant auxiliary systems and the power generation system having at least two redundant wireless channels.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a power generation system comprises a power generator, and a turbine coupled to the power generator. At east one of the power generator, and turbine includes an interface for remotely and simultaneously transmitting or receiving at least two redundant wireless signals having different respective frequencies over a wireless communications link. The two redundant wireless signals may be radio frequency signals having different frequencies which are remotely transmitted to or received from a network communications controller. The two redundant wireless signals may relate to communications with at least one power plant auxiliary system.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a power plant auxiliary system comprises a controller for controlling a parameter of the power plant auxiliary system, and an interface, operatively connected to the controller, for remotely and simultaneously transmitting or receiving at least two redundant wireless signals having different respective frequencies over a wireless communications link. The two redundant wireless signals may be radio frequency signals having different frequencies and may be remotely communicated to/from a network communications controller. The two redundant wireless signals may relate to communications with at least one component of a power generation system.